the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea, the squadron operated from Midway off the coast of South Korea until the crisis subsided. USS Midway operated again off South Korea in December 1981 following political unrest. During the 1988 Summer Olympics, in Seoul, South Korea, the squadron was embarked on Midway operating in the Sea of Japan to demonstrate U.S. support for a peaceful Olympics. 1990s The squadron deployed again to the Middle East in support of Operation Earnest Will, the escort of re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf. In October 1990, the squadron deployed to the North Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield. At 2:00AM on 17 January 1991, VA-115's Intruders launched from the deck of USS Midway to attack two airfields to mark the beginning of Operation Desert Storm. At around 4:00AM, they struck Ahmad Al-Jaber Air Base in occupied Kuwait and Shaibah Air Base in Southern Iraq. In total, the squadron flew 456 combat sorties and delivered 724,000 pounds of ordnance against enemy targets in Iraq and occupied Kuwait during the war. The squadron also was credited with the confirmed destruction of 12 Iraqi naval vessels. In August 1991, the squadron switched to the , as USS Midway retired as the Navy's forward deployed aircraft carrier homeported in Japan. During that change, they received VA-196's A-6E SWIP aircraft.In 1992, NF-515, an A-6E SWIP Intruder led to VA-115 becoming the first A-6 squadron to fire the AGM-65 Maverick at an Open Ocean target, with the Maverick being one of the new weapons the SWIP Intruder could carry. That same year, deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch enforcing United Nations resolutions against Iraq. The squadron was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for their performance flying 115 combat missions over Iraq. In 1993, VA-115 deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, and in 1994 they received four aircraft with night vision device capability. In 1996, VA-115 supported contingency operations in the vicinity of Taiwan. In October 1996, the squadron conducted a homeport change to NAS Lemoore, California and began transition to their fifth aircraft, the F/A-18C Hornet. They were redesignated as Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115) on 30 September 1996. The squadron accepted 12 F/A-18Cs in six months and joined CVW-14 on board . In June 1998 the squadron deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch.